


Together

by fortunata13



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: Drabble, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 11:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunata13/pseuds/fortunata13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little pre-slash Night Wisps drabble written for the lovely statuepup.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together

“Did you make it?” Kahlan asked, as she reached for Cara’s extended hand.

The expression on Cara’s face, a mixture of awe and joy. “I wish you could have been there. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Kahlan’s lips curled into a smile. It occurred to her that Cara’s face at that moment was as beautiful as anything she’d ever seen. Not once had the stoic Mord’Sith shown such vulnerability and emotion. It was as if her heart, in all its splendor, had opened just long enough to allow Kahlan a glimpse. There were at least a hundred questions she would have liked to ask but not a single one of them would have added to the perfection of the silence between them at that moment.

 

Cara was as effulgent as the Night Wisps, a source of light in her own right. So much so that it was all Kahlan could do to not stare at her. She was lingering slightly behind the Mord’Sith, in part due to her ankle injury but also because she feared making a fool of herself. She was seeing Cara through new eyes and it overwhelmed her. 

When Cara unexpectedly came to a full stop, Kahlan had no alternative but to wrap her arms around Cara’s waist to keep from toppling over. Cara’s hands went to the center of her own chest, gasping for air.

“Cara, what’s wrong?” Forgetting the pain in her ankle, she turned Cara around in her arms so that they were facing each other. Cara was struggling to return the air to her lungs. “Sit for a moment,” Kahlan said, trying to lower Cara onto a log, but she shook her head and tore away from Kahlan’s grip.

“No,” Cara said between gasps for air, “I have to go back. Something is wrong with them.”

“Wrong with who?” Kahlan asked, brushing the hair away from Cara’s eyes.

“With the babies, something is wrong with the babies. I can feel it.” That Cara would have suddenly become an empath seemed unlikely but Kahlan wasn’t willing to take any chances.

Kahlan tipped her head and thought for a moment. “We go back together,” she said, “neither of us will make it back to the grotto alone.”

“We have to hurry,” Cara said. There was urgency in her words but also desperation. The babies were in danger; Cara could feel it in her bones.

While Cara was still laboring to breathe, proximity to the grotto somehow caused her condition to improve. Kahlan’s ankle, however, was only getting worse, but she had no intention of mentioning it to the Mord’Sith.

“Wait,” Kahlan said when they were within sight of the grotto, “do you smell that?”

“Smoke,” Cara said, and broke into a full sprint. Out of pure adrenaline, Kahlan dismissed the pain of her injury and managed to keep up with Cara.

“D’Haran soldiers,” Cara said, withdrawing her agiels from their holsters. “They are burning the grotto.” It was a trap. Darken had the soldiers double back to kill the two of them; they were both certain of it.

“Not while I’m still breathing,” Kahlan said, reaching for her daggers and rushing in as if possessed by a demon. They were battling at least three dozen D’Harans while also trying to put out the fires Rahl’s men had started; theirs was a lost cause and they knew it but this one was to the death. There would be no retreat, not as long as even one of the baby Wisps was in danger.

Out of pure desperation, Cara allowed her arms to hang at her sides and looked up to the heavens for a moment, wishing she believed in miracles. And with a clap of thunder that was every bit an explosion, her miracle came in blinding sheets of rain that put out the fires and terrified the remaining D’Haran soldiers enough to cause them to flee.

Still panting for air, Cara and Kahlan stood there staring at each other in disbelief: it was as clear a day as either of them had ever seen. Without thinking, Kahlan pulled Cara into an embrace –– the rain soaking them both to the bone. “How did you…?” Kahlan asked, still clinging to the Mord’Sith who only shrugged in response.

When the downpour stopped, the two of them found themselves surrounded by chirping baby Wisps who were playfully bouncing about as if they hadn’t all almost died less than a candlemark ago. Cara and Kahlan laughed at their antics, and engaged in baby babble with them until they were both too tired and cold to keep their eyes open. Out of exhaustion, they collapsed onto the grass, with the babies hovering above them using their magical glow to keep the two of them warm.

“Spirits, Cara, they’re so beautiful, and so sweet.” They both tried their best to keep from falling asleep just so that they could gaze up at them. Much like the unexpected rain, the baby Night Wisps were a miracle. But for as much as they fought it, exhaustion bested them both and they fell asleep in the clearing, curled up next to each other.

Kahlan’s eyes opened when the first rays of sunshine broke through the canopy of trees above them. A smile tugged at her lips as she noticed the head of blonde hair resting on her chest. She tried her best not to move, or even breathe, in the hopes of making this moment last, but she was unable to resist the temptation of rubbing Cara’s earlobe with her the tip of her nose. She thanked the Creator that Cara hadn’t noticed; the humiliation would have probably killed her.

The Mord’Sith made a series cute little mewling sounds that caused Kahlan to cover her mouth with her hand in an effort to suppress a fit of giggles. Cara nuzzled into the crook of Kahlan’s neck, abruptly pulling away when she realized her predicament. “How is your ankle?” she asked.

“It’s been better,” Kahlan said, with a shrug. “I’ll only slow you down. You should go on without me.”

Cara frowned, and shook her head. “Wait here,” she said. After what to Kahlan seemed like a long time, she returned with a makeshift walking stick and bandages fashioned out of the uniform of one of the dead D’Haran soldiers. She took off her gloves and carefully undid the laces of Kahlan’s boot. Never in her life had Kahlan felt anything as soft as Cara’s hands. She then pulled a jar of ointment from her pack and massaged Kahlan’s calf, ankle, and foot before wrapping it in the bandage. Kahlan almost regretted that her other ankle hadn’t been injured for surely it deserved the same treatment.

Cara re-laced the boot and helped Kahlan to her feet. “How does it feel?” 

Kahlan smiled and said, “Like it was lovingly tended to by the softest pair of hands in the world.” Cara pursed her lips and tipped her head. Kahlan looked at her through her lashes, and with a surge of courage, leaned in and kissed her on cheek, catching just a bit of the corner of her mouth. At that very moment the baby Wisps burst into a celebratory symphony of chirps and baby babble that had Kahlan blushing and Cara rolling her eyes.

“You saved the Night Wisps twice,” Kahlan said, hobbling along with her walking stick once they had said their farewells to the babies and the grotto.

“No,” Cara said, “we saved them together.”

They spent the rest of the day slowly walking back to camp, with Cara making several false claims of exhaustion along the way to force Kahlan to rest. It was a thinly veiled ploy but Kahlan allowed it. When they finally met up with Richard and Zedd, Cara laid out their bedrolls side by side, placing Kahlan’s closest to the fire for extra warmth. When Zedd declared the braised lamb done, Cara snatched the largest piece of meat away from the Wizard and placed it on Kahlan’s plate.

By the time she slipped into her bedroll, Kahlan’s face ached from all the smiling –– the warmth radiating from her chest rivaling the warmth of the fire. After her turn at watch, Cara edged their bedrolls closer together and draped her arm over Kahlan’s waist. Kahlan took hold of Cara’s hand and guided it up so that it was pressed to her own chest. “Good night, Confessor,” Cara murmured, feeling Kahlan’s heart beating against her palm.


End file.
